When managing multiple board meetings a year, looking for a
solution to streamline the process isn't always an easy endeavor. We
recently spoke with our client, Iben Tjelum, Associate Director / Executive
assistant, Secretariat at EKF, Denmark’s official export credit agency, to
learn firsthand how she and her team made the transition to a board portal
solution:
What was most important to you and your board when
choosing a board portal?
Security and efficiency
We wanted to ensure that whatever solution we were using
was safe when storing our confidential board materials. We also wanted a
solution that would allow our board members to receive the latest board
materials as soon as they were available.
What advice would you offer an organization who is
considering a board portal solution?
Examine the readiness of your
board.
Ensure that your board is ready
to transition to a paperless board meeting. This means involving them in the
process by showing them the solution, offering cost benefit analysis, and
offering training, if needed. There are organizations that can easily
function without a board portal solution, but it is up to the Corporate
Secretary to challenge their board.
Look at functionality and ease of use.
Make sure you have the vendor
walk you through the entire product. Let them know what your pain points are
and how the solution solves these. Prior to implementing Directors Desk, board
book assembly was a major pain point but after walking through the solution
with the Product Specialist, I realized that I would be saving time, money and
energy. For your board, make sure that the solution is turn-key and requires
little to no training. Our board members are busy and often manage multiple
boards, so choosing an intuitive solution is the best answer.
Mobility.
With busy board members
travelling multiple times a year, it is essential that the solution have mobile
applications. Boards are becoming much more tech savvy and require instant
accessibility no matter where they are located. The Directors Desk application
provides this and also gives board members the flexibility to attend meetings
virtually.
What are three Directors Desk
features that save you and your board time?
- The iPad application – it allows our board members to stay on top of important matters while on the go.
- Document Center – our boards can easily access documents the minute they are made available.
- Survey Tool – it provides the flexibility to create surveys and launch them at no additional cost.
To read the full EKF Case Study, please click here.
